Pakistan's Z a k a t a n d as a Welfare

'Ushr

System

Grace Clark

akistan's zakat and 'ushr system comprises' an essential part of tKe Islamization program of the current government. Shortly after coming to power, General Zia.ul-Haq emphasized the need to establish zakat in an Islamic state (Zia ul-Haq 1979). In introducing the zakat system in 1980, he called it "an essential pillar of Islam's welfare system." The preamble to the Zakat and 'Ushr Ordinance (1980) states that "the prime objective of the collection of zakat and 'ushr; and disbursement^ therefrom,* is to assist the needy, the indigent and the poor." As organized in Pakistan, zakat combines elements of Islam's traditional religious welfare institution with those of a modern public welfare system. The moral imperative and much of the specific format are directly based on the Qur'an and* the shari'a. The system establishes the nation as the unit of policy and as the body authorized to collect and distribute zakat: based on national law, it uses, currency as the basic medium of assistance, bases eligibility on individual need, and is administered through a'government bureaucracy. This chapter examines Pakistan's zakat and 'ushr system as an operating welfare system, or "a system for providing a means of livelihood to those who cannot earn their own living bymeans considered normal in" the community" (Pusic 1971). It describes how Pakistan's zakat works "on the ground" and explores some issues now facing the system. Data for this chapter were collected in over two hundred interviews throughout Pakistan .from October 1983 to March .1984 and through subsequent correspondence with key officials in the zakat system, with 79

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CA K LR . 'Ushr is another fornt of almsgiving paid, on the produce of'land exceeding the value of 948 kilograms of wheat. It is not a tax on the value of the land itself, but on the harvest, and is due after each harvest. If the harvest, is lost for any reason,,-no 'ushr is due. As 'ushr is a part of,the religious tradition ,pf almsgiving, the term zakat as used throughout this chapter will be assumed to include 'ushr. Zakat is an integral part of Islamic history; it was established by the Prophet himself as part of thcadministrative structure of his government. After the Prophet's death, two tribes'north of Medina which had previously paid zakat, to the Prophet refused to pay zakat to his successor, Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr went to war against them to establish the principle that they must-pay zakat to him as the legitimate representative of .the Prophet's authority. Abu Bakr also introduced a guaranteed minimum standard of income, granting each man, woman, and child ten dirhams annually; this was later increased to twenty dirhams (Sharif 1979). The next two caliphs, Omar and Usman,- continued to .codify and clarify zakat. During the caliphate of 'Ali, the payment of zakat became embroiled in the issue of the legitimacy of the government. After 'Ali's death, his followers (later known as Shi'as) refused to pa^ zakat to his successor because they did not recognize the government's legitimacy (Aghnides 1981). Zakat as a governmental structure in an Islamic state had its last days during the reign of Umar bin Abdul Aziz (7 L7-20 A.D.). It is reported that during his reign, no one could be found in Medina who needed zakat (Tanzil-ur-Rahman 1981). This report is often cited today as the epitome of a system which identifies 'zakat with a- time of enormous political power and prosperity for Muslims, and social and economic justice for all. For centuries after 720 A.D.I zakat was considered an individual responsibility and act of devotion. Shi'as, comprising a sizable minority of Pakistan's Muslims, traditionally pay zakat by setting aside 5 percent of all incoming wealth throughout the year, paying it bo,th to the poor directly rand to their religious teachers (who are more hierarchically organized than those of the Sunni majority). Unlike the Hanafi understanding of tamlik, the Shi'as hold that projects benefitting the whole communty fall within the category of "good works of Allah." According to long-standing Shi'a doctrine, no government has the right to collect zakat unless it is the legitimate successor to the Prophet, which no modern government has been construed to be. Thus, while both Sunni and Shi'a Pakistani Muslims agree on the importance of zakat as a pillar of Islam, they differ fundamentally on how zakat should be determined, who may collect it, and how it, may be used. In the twentieth century, two overlapping sets of South Asian Mus-

members of various levels of zakat committees, with mustahaqeen, and with people outside the zakat system. Additional data were obtainea from responses to a mail-out questionnaire to a random sample of local zakat committees.

BACKGROUND OF PAKISTAN'S SYSTEM Zakat is one of the five pillarfcof Islam1, the acts required of a Muslim to demonstrate submission to God. Its primary traditional function is as an act of piety. It also reinforces the responsibility of Muslims for each other's physical and social well-being. Zakat as a traditional religious institution involves both the payment and distribution of zakat. Muslim jurists have defined zakat as a "complete, unilateral, and unconditional transfer by a Muslim of ownership, with all its usufructs, as an act of piety of a prescribed portion of property to a poor Muslim, other than a member of Hashimi Sajid family [a relative of the Prophet], if he.owns more than the prescribed wealth a's laid down by shari'a" (Tanzil-ur-Rahman 1980). Essentially, zakat is payment by a Muslim who has more than enough wealth to meet his needs (a sabib-e-nisab), to one of certain kinds of deserving1 poor Muslims (mustahaqeen). )3" As traditionally interpreted by Hanafi fiqh, zakat is to be paid once a year during the holy month of Ramadan on wealth held more than a year (Maududi 1980). Zakat rates vary with the amount of labor^degree of risk, and degree of good fortune involved in producing the 'wealth. Generally, the zakat rate is 2Vi percent on, for example, money, gold, or silver, while it is 20 percent on the produce of mines. There is an elaborate schedule of rates for animals, depending on the species, age, and sex of the animal (Aghnides 1981). Traditionally, jtoo, zakat is paid only to.certain groups, or "heads," specified in the Qur'an and shari'a. These are the poor (with no income); the needy (with some income,* but not enough to support themselves); recent converts |o Islam; those in debt through circumstances beyond their control; travelers; slaves to be emancipated; those who collect and disburse zakat; and those who do the good works of God (Maududi 1980; Aghnides 1981). The Qur'an exhorts over a hundred times that "Muslims should give zakat. It particularly emphasizes giving zakat to those who are poor and to needy widows and orphans. In Hanafi tradition, the concept of tatnlik requires zakat to be given as an absolute gift to one individual, or for his use.<

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lim intellectuals have elaborated and reinforced a vision of zakat as an integral part- of the socioeconomic system of an ideal Islamic state. The first group are the "ideological engineers, who are striving to develop an Islamic identity that is1 totally Muslim and totally relevant to the modern world" (Haddad 1982). Represented most articulately by Maulana Maududi in Pakistan, this group-has exerted a strong influence on the policies of the Pakistani government since its founding. The second group are the Islamic economists, led by Shaikh Mahmud Ahmad who, as early as 1947, published The Economics of Islam, in which he presented Islam as a systematic socioeconomic alternative to both capitalism and socialism. For this group, a very traditional interpretation of zakat provides the underpinning for'an envisioned perfect Islamic society. Both groups see zakat as serving the Islamic state as a social security system, providing comfortable levels of support for those in need. More recent Muslim economists have built on traditional concepts of zakat while" exploring new dimensions of these concepts. Naqvi (1981) sets out an important role for zakat in establishing economic and social justice through the redistribution of wealth. Khurshid Ahmad (1983) identifies a key rple for zakat in economic development, which would raise not only the well-being of individuals but also of the whole society. Events of the 1970s and 1980s have provided enormous energy to these visions. Large numbers of people throughout the Muslim world have become convinced that an Islamic system, with zakat as the main source of revenue collection, can produce economic justice, provide a social security system, eliminate poverty and'beggary, rehabilitate the poor to self-sufficiency, and increase the total wealth and well-being of the larger society. Political leaders throughout the Islamic world have fueled this vision: inclusion of at least some mention of zakat has become something of an Islamic litmus test to determine whether or not a government is"Islamic." While tremendous expectations have accrued to zakat, Naqvi and others in An Agenda for Islamic Economic Reform (1980> warn that zakat alone, and especially a partial implementation of the zakat system, should not be expected to "bring about these economic goals singlehandedly. Although many people wax romantic about how Muslims have always paid zakat and how voluntary zakat can achieve economic justice, the most rapid glance at Pakistan's social structure documents the prevalence of poverty there. People may recall their own parents and grandparents as generous with zakat, but severe disparities in' wealth have existed for centuries. Traditional zakat practices certainly helped some people, but such help was ad hoc, irregular, a function of the number of rich people in

a particular village, inequitable, and dependent on the donor's individual interpretation of his religious responsibility. Although little research has been done on personal zakat practices, a study made by Sabzwari in 1978 among middle-class educated Muslims in a subdivision of Karachi shows that while almost all,(95 percent) had heard of zakat, fewer than one-fourth paid zakat regularly themselves. Only about 5 percent had-ever heard of 'ushr. As Pakistan changes from a traditional to a more industrialized .and urban society, it is finding (as did the West) that traditional charities and family networks, however well-intentioned, are overwhelmed by the scope of economic change and its consequences. The state is the only organized institutional vehicle with sufficfent authority, scope, and resources to orchestrate nationwide solutions to poverty (Wilensky and Lebeaux 1965; Flora and Heidenheimer 1981), for while development schemes set out to upgrade groups of people, segments of the economy, or the society as a whole, it is"government welfare systems which address the immediate subsistence needs of individual persons. In 1978, President Zia asked the Council of Islamic Ideology to address, theoretically, the issue of a zakat system in Pakistan. Shortly after that, he appointed a-task group headed by H. U. Beg (then in the Planning Ministry and now secretary "in the Finance Ministry) to formulate a plan to fund and implement a zakat system. In March 1979, President Zia, ap; pointed J. A. Imtiyazi, a career administrator with a strong reputation for personattntegrity, to begin to set up the system. It had to have an effective collection, system falling within the guidelines of the shari'a, but administratively simple enough to minimize the cost of collection and prevent its being bogged down in minutiae, loopholes, or appeals. Eligibility was to be determined on the precepts of the shari'a, but also had to be simple, equitable, and sensible. Given Pakistan's historical experience with tax evasion and graft, the new system had to have strong accountability mechanisms so that people could believe in its integrity. Finally, since the system was to be based on Islamic precepts and was to use those precepts to draw upon resources, it had to be credible: to meet the "Islamic expectations" of the people and the government.

PAKISTAN'S SYSTEM "ON THE GROUND" Conceptually, Pakistan's zakat system is very simple. Most zakat is deducted at the source from financial institutions, forwarded to the Cen-

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Z K T A D U H AS A W L A E S S E AA N SR E F R YT M FIGURE-5.1. System of Collection and Distribution of Zakat and 'Ushr in Pakistan. Central Zakat Administration Allocated by population

tral Zakat Fund, and disbursed through Provincial Zakat Funds to a nationwide network of local zakat committees. These committees determine eligibility and give out grants to mustahaqeen. In rural areas, the local zakat committee also determines 'ushr and supervises its collection, adding these funds to those received from provincial disbursements. (It should be noted that 'ushr has not been as successful in its implementation as has zakat.) Voluntary contributions are also added to the local zakat committee's account. Simple in concept, zakat becomes' a much more complex system in actual implementation. As our primary concern in this chapter is with zakat as a 'social welfare system, our focus is on the administrative aspects of the distribution of monies to mustahaqeen, and the effects of this distribution. The administrative structure of zakat, consisting of a blend of highly professional civil servants and unpaid volunteers, is actually two parallel systems. At each level of government, volunteers, organized in committees, make policy decisions appropriate for that level and* are integrally involved in the day-to-day functioning of the system. At the local level, volunteers comprise the large'body of workers who carry out the actual work of zakateligibility determination, disbursement of zakat, records keeping, and, in many instances, collection of 'ushr. Paid staff are used to implement the policies formulated by the volunteers. They support the volunteer system, using their technical and administrative expertiseas well as their authorityto help the volunteers make the system work. The volunteer system is internally hierarchical, that is, each level of the system is directly accountable to the next higher level. The professional staff is quasi-hierarchical; it coordinates with the professional zakat staff of the next higher level of government and also has line accountability through the governmental structure at the same level of government. The local-level professional staff accounts directly to the local zakat committee. The professional and volunteer staffs interface at each level of government, with at least one member of the professional staff serving as part of the volunteer committee at each level except the local. As in most welfare systems, the functions 'of the administrative structure differ at each governmental level. The Central Zakat Committee carries the primary responsibility for formulating policy guidelines, while the Administrator General Zakat and his staff put these into appropriate governmental format and disseminate them. In contrast, a local zakat committee makes little formal policy, but carries the brunt of actual operations. The proportion of effort a committee devotes to policy versus operational decisions decfeases with each level of government. All staff filling national and provincial policy-making posts are ap-

Provincial Zakat Administration Institutions Allocated by population orfiatrate per community

ZAKAT Bank Accounts > Rs 3000 Life insurance USHR Barani 10% Irrigated 5% on produce value > 948kg wheat

Local Zakat Cdmmittees

MUSTAHAQEEN Approved by Local Zakat Committee

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pointed. At the national level, they are appointed by the president; as the policy-making function diminishes with each level, the proportion of committee members elected to their posts rises until, at the level of the Local Zakat Committee, all are elected locally, and in turn elect their own chairman. , This administrative structure involves large numbers of people: as of 10 January 1983, there were 37,033'local zakat committees with 7 members each, for a total of 259,241 people. Adding in 289 tebsil (sub-district), 72 district, and 4 provincial committees, zakat's administration involves more than 275,000 people in all (according to the General Zakat Administration in 1983). Communication is often a major logistical exercise, especially since many villages do not contain a telephone. Moreover, the Central Zakat Administration estimates that half of the members ofUocal zakat committees are illiterate and that a quarter of the committees, especially in rural areas, do not have any member who is literate. Policy is communicated, verbally and in writing, down both the parallel hierarchies. At the district and tehsil levels, this is usually accomplished through meetings. However, policy is often also disseminated from the district level by mail, directly to both tehsil and local committees. To reinforce policy consistency and to provide moral support to the volunteer committees, the Central Zakat Administration sends out a monthly magazine, al-Zakat, which contains inspirational articles, news of volunteer committee accomplishments, and articles on policy changes. Because policy dissemination and report compilation has been hampered by illiteracy, the Central Zakat Committee, in October 1983, authorized local zakat committees to spend up to Rs. 100 ($8) per month to hire a secretary to read and keep records, and to prepare reports. When asked why they serve on zakat committees, most members responded that they consider it an honor. Some consider it a religious obligation. It appears that some serve' out of a sense of inherited responsibility: their families are relatively rich and have always been involved in whatever zakat activity was occurring. Most committees contain at least one mullah; often, local committees contain someone who has completed the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina). Local zakat committees are supposed to meet monthly, but according to their own reports, only about one-third actually do. Some meet bimonthly, others quarterly. About one-fourth meet only after they have received zakat funds in their local account; this occurs no more than twice a year, and maybe as infrequently as once every seven or eight months. The biggest organizational problem facing local zakat committees is a

result of their dependence on' volunteers. Most local zakat committee members are elected because they are the leading men in a village. The same involvements which gain them respect take time in themselves and decrease the amount of time and energy these.men can devote to zakat work. In some places, as members drift away or cease to be involved, no one remains to carry out the work,pf the, committee-and it ceases to function. Sometimes it is difficult for district and provincial zakat organizations to monitor the actual workings of the local committees. When questionnaires were sent to 5,000 chairmen of local zakat committees using the official roster of the Central Zakat Administration, about 10 percent were returned as undeliverable. Most of these committees had ceased to function, and no replacement committees had yet formed. For all the emphasis on following the zakat format of the 'Qur'an, there is no precedent within Islamic shariJa for zakat disbursement or collection by" committee. During the life of the Prophet, zakat was collected and'disbursed by agents appointed by the Prophet, accountable to him, and paid from zakat funds'. In Pakistan, an earlier official attempt in 1954 to establish zakat used the post office, not committees. The committee'concept, unique to Pakistan, seems to have been a part of the discussion of a zakat system from at least 1978. Many interviewees speculated that the concept came from the widely established practice of having committees of locally selected volunteers manage the affairs of the local mosque. No one could recall, however, who actually posed the idea of committees, or when. A few paid staff provide the skeletal framework supporting the zakat organization. The Administrator General Zakat,' the Chief Administrators Zakat, and their subordinates are long-term professional civil servants. Whatever problems the government of Pakistan may have elsewhere with corruption, zakat officials not only function in a straightforward fashion, but go to some lengths to ensure that their activities remain respectable. Below the provincial level, there is often no dedicated full-time staff assigned to zakat. At the district level, the deputy commissioner assigns what resources he can spare. Initially, the deputy commissioner was to be a member of-the lcoal committee, but often didn't attend meetings. This was changed so that the deputy commissioner became the vice-chairman of the district zakat committee; following this change, attendance at meetings both by deputy commissioners and support personnel increased. Completely outside the administrative structure of zakat is the National Zakat Foundation. Its name is a misnomer since it doesn't use zakat monies but is instead funded by an annual appropriation from the consolidated funds (i.e., general revenue), and makes grants to institutions serving

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mustahaqeen. These grants cover types of expenses proscribed by Hanafi tamlik, the requirement that zakat be given to a single donee. They are usually applied to the cost of buildings, equipment, and materials used in common by several mustahaqeen. Most grants given out to-date by the National Zakat Foundation -have provided start-up money -for training centers or programs for women, the disabled, and orphans.

ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION The Zakat and 'Ushr Ordinance set broad parameters for eligibility for zakat, which is determined by local zakat committees. Priority is to be given to widows, orphans, the disabled, and students of deeni madrasas (traditional religious schools whose students have traditionally received zakat from private donors). If there is sufficient money, zakat funds may also be used for any of the eight types of poor specified in the shari'a, with the clear understanding that the committee is accountable to the authorities for money expended. Individuals who are denied zakat have the right to appeal the decision to the tehsil zakat committee. These parameters give broad discretionary power to the local zakat committee. For administrative purposes, a person is eligible for zakat if the local committee says so, unless and until it can be demonstrated that he or she cannot be included under any of the eight categories specified by the shari'a. The only practical way to determine that someone is clearly not eligible is to prove that the person is a sahib-e-nisab (someone with more than enough wealth to meet his or, her needs). The largest single restraint on the local zakat committees' decisions is the very limited amount of money available for distribution. Ninety-five percent of the local zakat committees that were visited or that responded to the questionnaire said their largest problem was a lack of sufficient funds to meet the needs of everyone determined eligible. Most committees dependon mustahaqeen to identify themselves and request zakat. Some committees use written application forms but most do not, since almost all the mustahaqeen are illiterate. In most instances, verification of eligibility is procured through a home visit by a member of the local zakat committee, in which the mustahaq is interviewed in private, sometimes along with neighbors. Committees vary on the degree to which they prioritize. Some clearly attempt to provide regular modest funds to the most needy. Other committees say they try to give a little something to everyone.

The basic eligibility policy- is* very broad and flexible. It places a great deal of trust in the integrity, fairness, and good sense of the local zakat committee', holding them responsible for knowing their areas and for making sound and appropriate decisions. The policy allows local zakat committees to be highly sensitive to individual problems and responsive to local priorities and needs. However, it also contains the potential for arbitrary and prejudiced decisions by local zakat committees. This is minimized by the fact that all seven members of a local zakat committee must reach a consensus before funds are distributed to a mustahaq. The community can exert social pressure on the committee if a decision is perceived as unfair. In rare instances, a'case will be appealed to the tehsil zakat council, where the judgment of the chairman of the local zakat committee, is scrutinized by the other local zakat committee chairmen in the tehsil. In my visits to local committees, I observed that occasional complaints about eligibility were followed up. Usually, the person who complained about not receiving zakat was technically eligible, but had been passed over when local committee funds were insufficient to give zakat to all potentially eligible recipients. It was usually a judgment call as to which of the eligible people should receive a grant. Understandably, some of those technically eligible who didn't receive grants were upset by the decision. DISBURSEMENT OF GRANTS The amount of money disbursed as zakat grants varies widely, as does the frequency at which grants are distributed. Of the local zakat committees whose books I personally reviewed, grant amounts for a single person varied from a low of Rs. 12 ($1) per month in the Northwest Frontier Province, to a high of Rs. 400 ($30) per month in a section of Karachi. Returned surveys from 200 local zakat committees throughout Pakistan indicate that the great majority of zakat payments range from Rs. 50-100 per month for an individual, and Rs. 100-150 per month for a family. When zakat first began, the maximum payment was set at Rs. 40 ($3) per month. Athar Mahmud of the Central Zakat Administration explains that the Central Zakat Committee realized this was inadequate to live on, but set the maximum benefit at that level because of its uncertainty about how-much money would be collected and how many mustahaqeen there would be. Later, the Central Zakat Committee removed the upper limit.

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Almost no one connected with the zakat system feels that zakat payments are adequate t'o live on. There was significant consensus.among people interviewed (about 80 percent) that the absolute minimum subsistence level is Rs. 300 ($22) for an individual and Rs. 500-1-.000 ($37-74) for a family. Clearly, most mustahaqeen do not receive this much. As a point of reference, Afghan refugees generally receive food, clothing, water, medical care, tents, blankets, and kerosene plus Rs. 150 ($11) a month each. Still another point of comparison is that the lowest federal monthly salary grade for a peon is Rs. 550 ($41). The general expectation is that mustahacjeen will supplement their zakat benefits, although how they are expected to do this is not clear. This situation is problematic. Working at all may raise the.expectation that they really are able to support themselves. However, many are too old or sick to work much even when work is available. They aren't supposed to beg, and if they do the local zakat committee may drop them. Most seem to eke out an existence on the-generosity of neighbors, who give food, a little work, and a meager subsistence. At this time, zakat is not adequate in the sense of fulfilling even the subsistence needs of people who cannot work to support.themselves. It certainly is not a social security system (there isra limited system operating in Pakistan) ensuring a moderate level of comfort in'the event of the injury or death of the primary earner. Yet before the zakat system was initiated, most of these mustahaqeen received far less than they receive now. One of zakat's goals is to rehabilitate mustahaqeen to make them selfsupporting. The most common form of "rehabilitation" practiced by about 80 to 90 percent of local zakat committees is to buy a mustahaq (usually a woman) a sewing machine. Most local committees simply provide the machineno materials, thread, or scissors. Most important, most of these recipients are given no technical training nor are they taught how to establish and run a small business. Moreover, there is a limit to the number of people in a small village who can earn their living sewing, even if they are able to master the craft. A few places have established training centers. Salai Markaz in Islamabad provides three to six months of training. While learning to sew in the program, women receive a training stipend, and are presented with a sewing machine at graduation. Even then, officials at Salai Markaz say that only some 10 to 15 percent of their graduates can actually support themselves. Social welfare institutions for orphans and for the physically and mentally: handicapped have benefitted greatly from zakat, as they now receive fairly generous grants for each recipient from provincial zakat

administrations. For example, the Leprosy Hospital in Rawalpindi receives Rs. 500 .per .month for each patient. Since its inception, the* zakat system had disbursed more than Rs. 2,500 million to more than 4 million people by 1983 (Zia ul-Haq 1983: 1618). While this has helped many individuals, the wide variance in payment levels-and frequency of payments means that there is little equity in the program. The low levels of payment result in grants that are helpful, perhaps, but inadequate to fully support recipients living at subsistence levels. *

IMPACT OF THE ZAKAT PROGRAM The general public expectationor at least hopeis that zakat will have an impact in one of four ways: 1) The provision of financial assistance to those who cannot work; 2) The economic rehabilitation of those who may be able to work to support themselves; 3) The elimination of beggary; 4) The redistribution of wealth in the society. 'To date, most of the organizational effort of zakat has focused on the first goal. In various interviews conducted with recipients of zakat funds, when asked about the impact of zakat on their lives, most mustahaqeen said that they now eat a greater quantity and variety of food. For the-most part, though, the amount of the grant has not been enough to make a substantive difference in lifestyle. In economic rehabilitation, local zakat committees have been most successful with disabled men. Most of these men had worked and been exposed to the marketplace before becoming disabled. Zakat rehabilitation money has enabled them to buy a cart or a set of tools, or establish a shop. However, many local zakat committees have policies which inhibit individual initiative and strike particularly at the differences in the ways men and women are socialized. A number of local zakat committees stipulate that if an individual accepts a rehabilitation grant, he or she may never receive zakat again. This makes acceptance of a rehabilitation grant a statement of faith in one's ability to be self-supporting and a statement of acceptance of the role of wage-earner. Pakistani men are taught that to support themselves and their families is an integral part of their role. To a man, an "opportunity to become self-supporting is an opportunity to regain an acceptable male role in society. Women, however, see their responsibilities as bearing, raising, and protecting their children; it is the responsibility of their male relatives to provide support. The acceptance of a rehabilitation

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grant aimed at making thenr self-supporting requires them to assume a nontraditional role for which they are usually unprepared. One area in which zakat has made a difference is that of schooling. By paying school fees for many poor students, zakat has enabled.them to attend school regularly, a modest but important effect. The goal of eliminating beggary is problematic. Beggars make people feel uncomfortable, especially wealthy people. Many beggars are genuinely poor. Almost all are conspicuously crippled, maimed, or blind. For many of these people, begging is a profession by which they earn a living and support their families. Most beggars in Pakistan, especially in large cities^ are part of large-scale organizations. Children are sometimes kidnapped, crippled, and theh forced to beg. Zakat has little potential impact on what is essentially a law enforcement problem. Laws already in place give authorities the vehicle to eliminate beggary, but they are rarely enforced. Because of zakat, the public now has ritofe insistant expectations that police will not allow beggars to beseech alms. Although the police have reduced the number of beggars on the streets, they have done this by intimidation and arrest, not ~by putting the beggars on zakat or offering them some other form of employment or welfare assistance. For many Muslims, the ultimate goal of zakat is the elimination of poverty and of the*extreme disparities of wealth existent in Pakistan: that is, income redistribution. However, for all practical purposes, no substantive redistribution has occurred. Zakat has'had little secondary impact on the micro-economics of the village. On a larger scale, the recent macroeconomic model of Pakistan's economy (Naqvi 1983) contains no references to zakat. Naqvi considers zakat as too marginal to the economy to be considered a measurable factor. It must be combined with other elements of an Islamic economic system, for example, the elimination of riba (usury) and redistribution of lands to limits specified in the shari'a if economic redistribution is to occur. The problem with making any impact'by providing financial assistance to those who can't work is one of too many mustahaqeen and too little money. Money spent on maintenance has no dramatic "payoff." It has been a source of some frustration tothe*Central Zakat Committee and the Central Zakat Administration, that as of January 1984, about 90 percent of the zakat funds expended had been disbursed to individual mustahaqeen for maintenance rather than for rehabilitation. At the same time, the very small size of zakat's grants means that zakat has no meaningful impact as a social security system or "safety net." Middle class and rich Muslims must pay zakat, but they cannot have any real expectation that they or their families will ever receive anything back from the system.

Viewed as a public welfare system, Pakistan's zakat program has been modestly successful. It has helped some people achieve financial independence, provided some income to help the poorest citizens survive, and enabled social welfare- institutions to expand' the quality of their programs and the number of people they can serve. Zakat has established a nationwide infrastructure blending volunteer committees and professional civil servants, mobilizing over a quarter-million members of the general population and involving them directly in zakat's implementation. The zakat system has promulgated eligibility criteria based on the Qur'an and shari'a that most people accept as reasonable and fair; these criteria are also flexible enough to allow local committees to interpret them in the light of local conditions. Zakat collection has demonstrated that the government can collect a, tax impartially and efficiently, -without corruption. Judged in terms of its help to the poor, the number of persons served, the amount of money collected and disbursed, and the equity ofits benefits, Pakistan's zakat is a tremendous improvement over no government system at all. However, although the zakat system has made a substantial beginning, it still has.many limitations. The program is seriously underfunded to achieve even the most modest interpretation of its goals. Local committees express frustration over having insufficient funds to meet enormous need. Some committees fritter away what funds are available by giving grants so small they provide only marginal help. Except for a very few excellent training centers, most money spent on "rehabilitation" has shown little imagination or understanding of the spectrum of skills needed to operate a small business. Almost all local zakat committees are composed of men, who may not be sensitive to the needs of widows, the largest single group of mustahaqeen. The effectiveness of the aid given by local committees to mustahaqeen varies tremendously, depending on each committee's interest, commitment, and available time. Many members of the general public who approve of the basic concept of zakat question what real impact the system has had. The biggest threat facing the success of the zakat system is that the same Islamization process which brought it into being seems to be fostering unreasonable and unrealistic expectations about what itor any other welfare systemcan do. Most of the general public, and many inside the system itself, do not recognize the inherent limitations of any welfare program working as a residual system, limited to responding to the immediate needs of individual persons. Zakat is not a development program. Those who expect it to eliminate poverty simply do not understand the

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dimensions and capabilities of a public welfare system, which cannot deal with the causes of poverty. Because of the enormity of Pakistan's widespread poverty and the limited funds actually available through zakat, the visible impact of the program is minimal. This, combined with high expectations, threatens the credibility of the system and could destroy it. In addition, the zakat system is threatened by the emotional and political baggage brought to it by many people, whose reaction to it is intertwined with their feelings about the nonelected government which imposed it. All of these systemic problems, however, can be rationally dealt with to produce a more viable welfare system, as long as realistic expectations are set for it. If the zakat system can separate itself from national politics, rampant rhetoric, and Islamic fantasy, and concentrate on doing well the things that this system can do, it could be a very positive, if modest force, doing a lot of good for many people who need help. Pakistan has demoastrated by its initial achievements that the more modest goal is possible. However, if zakat alone is expected to eliminate all poverty and beggary, without other structural changes in the society, it will surely fail, and the opportunity to explore the potential for zakat as a welfare system in a modern state will be lost.

REFERENCES Aghnides, Nicholas P. 1981. An Introduction to Mohammedan Law. Lahore: Sang-eMeel Publications. Ahmad, Khurshid. 1983. "Economic Development in an Islamic Framework." In Studies in Islamic Economics. Jeddah: The International Center for Research in Islamic Economics. Ahmad, Shaikh Mahmud. 1952. Economics of Islam. 2nd ed. Lahore: Sheikh Muhammad Ashraf. Flora, Peter and Arnold J. Heidenheimer, eds. 1981. The Development of the Welfare State in Europe and America. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books. Government of Pakistan. 1980. An Agenda for Islamic Economic Reforms: The Report of the Committee on Islamization Appointed by the Finance Minister. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance, Central Zakat Administration. 1982. A Brief Introduction to the Zakat and 'Usbr System in Pakistan. Islamabad: Government Printing Office. Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance. 1980 Report of the Committee on Islamization. Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.

-. 1983. Economic Survey of Pakistan, 1982-83. Islamabad: Government Printing Office. Haddad, Yvonne V. 1982. "The Islamic Alternative." The Link 15, No. 4 (September/October). Maududi, Syed Abdul a'la. 1980. Fundamentals of Islam. Lahore: Islamic Publications. Naqvi, Syed Nawab Haider. 1983. Individual Freedom, Social Welfare and Islamic Economic Order, Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. Pusic, Eugene. 1971. Social Welfare and Social Development. The Hague: Mouton. al-Qardawi, Allama Yusuf. 1981. Economic Security in Islam. Translated by Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqi. Lahore: Kazi Publications. Qureshi, Anwar Iqbal. 1979. The Economic and Social System of Islam. Lahore: Islamic Book Service. Sabzwari, M. A. 1979. A Study of Zakat and 'Usbr with Special Reference to Pakistan. Karachi: Industries Printing Press. Sharif, M. Raihan. 1979. Islamic Social Framework. Lahore: Sheikh Muhammad Ashraf. Siddiqi, Mohammad Akhfar Saeed. 1983. Early Development of Zakat Law and Ijtibad. Karachi: Islamic Research Academy. Tanzil-ur-Rahman. 1981. Introduction of Zakat in Pakistan. Islamabad: Council of Islamic Ideology. Wilensky, Harold L. and Charles V. Lebeaux. 1965. Industrial Society and Social Welfare. New York: The Free Press. Zia ul-Haq, Mohammad. 1979. "Introduction of Islamic Laws: Address to the Nation." Islamabad, 10 February. . 1982. Interview at Rawalpindi, August 6. . 1983. "Constitutional Framework: Address to Majlis-e-Shoora," Islamabad, 12 August 1982. Interview at Rawalpindi, August 6.